19. The protector
1885 Words
“And what about Luke?”
Lena raised an eyebrow as she gently turned the cup of tea she had in her hands.
“Well, it’s Alpha Lucas now, Jake. You should know, you’re his Beta.”
Jake placed himself on the armchair across from the couch where Lena was sitting.
“Exactly. What is his stance in all of this?”
Lena leaned back and placed the cup of tea on the table next to her. She drew a deep breath before she answered.
“He’s pissed, but he’s my brother. In the end he would defend me, which is why I told him not to.”
Jake frowned.
“Why?”
“Because we need to show others that we can take our emotions out of the equation. The Harlows are understandably angry that I let Nadia go into such a dangerous place without reinforcements. They believe that I acted out of pure selfishness. Luke will show them that not all Ashwoods are driven by egotistical impulses.”
Jake nodded a bit, but his frown was still apparent. It was silent for some seconds before he finally spoke.
“Did you act on egotistical impulses?”
Lena looked down.
“I acted because I genuinely believe that Logan knows stuff. He must know something. But…”
She let out a sigh.
“... I would have considered it a lot more had it been any other person in there. I would have been so much more careful, and I would have probably stopped it in the end. The consequences would have outweighed the benefits. I truly believed that I did it for the common good, but I don’t know anymore. It’s as if I can’t trust myself when it comes to him.”
Jake looked at her with a contemplating expression. He eventually leaned back in his chair as he changed to his normal expression.
“Well, if you need Alpha Lucas to keep you at a distance, then it means you need to keep me at a distance as well. So we should probably get to it.”
Lena nodded and opened her mouth when a commotion outside stopped her. Though the voices were muffled by the door, she could still hear Nathan clearly as he spoke to the guards outside.
“You need to let me in, I need to speak with her.”
Lena got up as she watched the door. Great. Another person that hates me. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she tried to relax while the voices on the other side continued. However, she suddenly heard Nathan’s voice in her head.
“Lena, please. I’m not here to harm you, I just need to speak with you.”
Though it was harder to hear emotions through mind link, she could tell that he was being honest. She took in a deep breath before she walked over to the door and opened it.
“Let him pass.”
The guards outside looked confused. One of them turned from Lena to Nathan and back to Lena before he spoke.
“Luna, this man is mated to the Harlow girl. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Lena nodded as she looked at Nathan. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look threatening either. At least not too threatening.
“I am. Besides, he’s an Alpha now. Remember that next time you address him.”
She then turned around and walked inside the room again. She got eye contact with Jake as she stepped back inside. He lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t do anything else. Nathan soon stepped inside the room. He then looked at Lena as his voice once more vibrated in her head.
”You need to send your guards away.”
Lena huffed a laugh as she proceeded to answer him in a normal way.
“Uhm, no?”
Nathan looked frustrated as he tilted his head and opened his eyes wide.
”Just trust me, okay.”
Lena paused and regarded Nathan for some time. He seemed upset, but he was definitely in control.
“Fine… Mike, Xander, can you guys please go outside and stand watch there?”
The two guards looked bewildered by her command. Mike, who had spoken before, once more opened his mouth.
“Luna, we can’t hear if anything happens from the outside. If anything happens…”
“... if anything happens, I’m still a capable fighter and I have Beta Jakob with me. I’ll be fine.”
The two men clenched their jaws and looked annoyed, but they eventually walked outside. Lena then turned back to Nathan.
“So… I’m guessing you’ve heard by now.”
Nathan nodded while he squinted slightly.
“I did. Can’t say I’m exactly thrilled about it, but I’m not here to harm you. A part of me wants to, but another part knows that it would be futile. I’m here because Nadia told me about the information you were given.”
Lena furrowed her brows.
“What information?”
“That one of us had died. That either me or Jake had been killed. Obviously that wasn’t true, so I wondered who told you, and maybe more importantly; why?”
Lena shrugged lazily. She hadn’t really given it too much thought, but Nathan’s interest still caught her attention.
“Kendrick told me. But this wouldn’t be the first time someone was pronounced dead without actually being dead. These kinds of rumours happen all the time.”
“You don’t find this just a little suspicious? You were given this information, false information, on the day that you were planning on letting Alpha Logan out of his cell. I personally find that too convenient.”
Lena rubbed her temples once more as she tried to process what Nathan was saying.
“Okay, but no one knew what we were about to do? No one but me and Nadia. Why would someone spread false information without knowing the most crucial part?”
Nathan lifted an eyebrow as he nudged towards the door.
“You sure no one knew? You’re quite relaxed when it comes to speaking while others could listen without your knowledge.”
Lena looked at the door and remembered how she and Jake had been speaking about some things that were meant for only their ears, yet she had heard Nathan clearly through the door which meant that the guards had been able to hear her and Jake too. However, that had not been the case when she and Nadia had discussed their plan, she had been much more careful then.
“I can’t say for certain that no one listened, but I most certainly did my part then. Jake and I discussing the fact that the Harlows hate me is not really as serious as me wanting to let the most dangerous man loose.”
Nathan still looked very serious as he kept eye contact with Lena.
“Kendrick. Do you trust him?”
Lena swallowed as she shrugged.
“As much as I trust most people. However, he’s been one of my fiercest protectors. I… I don’t know.”
“And you don’t know where Kendrick got the information from?”
Lena opened her mouth to say ‘no’ as it dawned on her. She could feel the anger go through her as she coldly replied.
“No. But I know who told Logan. Neil.”
Both Nathan and Jake leaned forward a bit. Then, suddenly, Lena walked with a purpose towards the door.
“I will kill him.”
She was just about to tear the door open when she felt a hand grab her arm.
“You will stay right here and you will begin to actually speak with the people that want to help you. You wanna be a leader? Great, act like one. Be strategic.”
Lena looked at Nathan with surprise. She took in a deep breath as she looked down. He’s right, I’m doing it again. I need to control my emotions. Nathan then let go and Lena stepped inside again. She sat down and Jake and Nathan soon followed. Nathan then continued.
“We’re being torn apart at a moment where we need to stick together. We’re not only fighting the Red Cross Crows anymore, we’re also fighting the Black Pines Pack, Logan, and potentially someone from within our own ranks. We can’t fight each other any longer, so we need to be sure before we do anything further.”
Lena nodded before she turned to look at Jake. Jake gave her crooked smile before he looked at Nathan.
“Seems like you weren’t the only one who misjudged others, Alpha Nathan. You’re wiser than I would have thought.”
Nathan clenched his jaw as he crossed his arms.
“I’m not Alpha yet. My pack still need to accept me. And you wouldn’t be the first person to do so, so no worries.”
Lena grabbed her now cold cup of tea and swirled it in her hand.
“It just seems so… pointless. Yes, we should reunite our forces once more, but then what? We can’t fight these enemies either way, and all we have is a name…”
She recalled how Nadia had said a name before she and Lena had walked into the cells. What was his name?
“Do you mean Topher Crops?”
Lena looked up to look at Nathan who had spoken. She couldn’t remember the name entirely, but that was definitely not it.
“Topher Crops? No, I’ve never heard that name before. No it was more like Dean Odair or something. Who’s Topher Crops?”
Nathan shook his head with a frown on his face.
“Not sure, it was a name my dad gave us before…”
His face changed to one of sadness, but he quickly recovered and continued.
“Who’s Dean Odair?”
Lena shook her head as well.
“It might have been Dion actually…”
“Dìonadair?”
Lena looked at Jake and nodded.
“Yes, that’s it. Do you know him?”
Jake lifted an eyebrow while he frowned.
“‘Dìonadair’ means ‘protector’ in Gaelic, Lena. It’s a title that was used a long time ago when we had royalty within our kind. When the Lunaires ruled. However…”
Jake got a faraway expression as he pointed to nothing.
“... I did some research on Crops. There’s not much info about him except that he has European ancestry. Perhaps…”
“... he’s the dìonadair?”
Lena, Jake, and Nathan all looked at each other. Jake tilted his head and shrugged.
“It’s worth looking into. I’ll do that.”
Jake got up and opened the door. He stopped before walking outside and looked at Lena.
“Will you be okay?”
Lena nodded and gave him a faint smile. Jake then left, leaving Lena and Nathan alone. The tension was clear, but Lena pushed through it as she focused on Nathan.
“So what do we do from here?”
Nathan got up.
“I’ll speak to the Harlows, and then we’ll meet tomorrow if things go well, which they have to. And then we find this Topher Crops.”
- Writer
